Needle-picking device for knitting-machines.



PATENTED NOV. 1, 19041 L. N. D. WILLIAMS. NEEDLE PIGKING DEVICE FORKNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

no MQDEL.

PATBNTED NOV. 1, 1904.

L. N. D. WILLIAMS. NEEDLE PIOKING DEVICE FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 22, 1902.

2 SHEETS-BEEET 2.

N0 MODEL;

Patented November 1, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT Orrica,

LOUIS N. D. WVILLIAMS, OF ASHBOURNE, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALFTO ROBERT W. SCOTT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

NEEDLE-PlCklNG DEVICE FOR KNITTING-MACHINES. I

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 774,124, dated November1, 1904.

Application filed August 22, 1902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS N. D. WVILLIAMs,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Ashbourne, Montgomerycounty, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements inNeedle-Picking Devices for Knitting-Machines, of which the following isa specification. My invention consists of certain improve- IO ments inknitting-machines which are provided with mechanism for picking needleafter needle at the opposite ends of a fashioning set first out ofoperation and then into operation again for the purpose of firstnarrowing 5 and then widening a knitted web formed by reciprocating thecam-cylinder or other camcarrier of the machine, so as to produce aknitted bag or pocket constituting the heel or toe of a stocking, ofwhich the tubular web constitutes the leg or foot; and my inventionrelates especially to that class of needle-picking mechanism in whichthe picker is pivotally mounted upon a carrier on the cam-carrier and assaid carrier is reciprocated is arrested 5 by contact with a needle-buttat one end or the other of the fashioning set of needles and is thenmoved by means of a cam which continues to travel with theneedle-carrier, whereby the picker either moves the needle out of opera-3 tive relation with the knitting-cams, if it was before operative, orinto operative relation with said knitting-cams, if it was before.inoperative. In this class of machines the picker is either movable onits carrier in the direction of travel of the same, as in the machineshown in Fig. 6 of the patent of Robert W. Scott, No. 410,859, datedSeptember 10, 1889,

or the picker-carrier is mounted on but movable independently of thecam-cylinder or 4 other carrier, as in the machines shown in thesubsequent patents, N0. 57 5,191, dated January 12, 1897, and No.657,953, dated April 15, 1902. My present improvements are appliedparticularly to a machine of the latter type,

so that when the movement of the picker is arrested by contact with aneedle the pickercarrier will yield as the cam-carrier continues itsmovement and will permit a cam on the Serial No. 120,692. No model.)

cam-carrier to act upon the picker so as to move the needle whose bithas been engaged 5 thereby out of or into operative relation with theknitting-cams. The present machine, however, resembles one type of themachine described in Patent No. 410,859 in that the picker is held inits normal position by means of a spring and is restored to its normalposition again by the spring after it has been moved out of suchposition by engagement with the cam, although gravity may be relied uponto restore the lifting-picker to normal or operative position, ifdesired.

My present invention consists, mainly, in a modification 0f thepicker-carrier of the later types of machine before referred to, thepresent machine having in place of the 5 friction ring or band uponwhich the pickers were pivotally mounted in such prior machines a simpleswinging arm which is lighter than the ring or band, and consequentlysusceptible of easier movement than the latter 7 when the picker strikesthe butt of the needle and which provides for a quicker movement of thepicker or a greater extent of movement of the same within a given time.

The invention also consists in so mounting this swinging arm upon acam-cylinder that as the picker mounts the cam whereby it is caused tomove the needle into or out of operative position it will automaticallyclear itself from the butt of the needle and can then so be again movedinto operative position under the action of a spring or weight.

The invention also comprises certain means for moving the pickers toinoperative position while the machine is knitting round and 5 round forthe production of tubular work.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a view illustrating in a flatplane the inner side of the cam-cylinder with its needle-opcrating camsand needle-pickers. Fig. 2 is a 9 similar View of the outside of thecam-cylinder, illustrating the swinging arms upon which the pickers aremounted, the springs for restoring the pickers to operative position,and the cam structure whereby the pickers may be moved to a neutralposition during round-and-round knitting; and Fig. 3 is a sectional planview of the camcylinder equipped with needle operating cams andneedle-picking devices in accordancewith my invention.

1 represents the cam-carrier of the machine, which in the presentinstance is represented as a cylinder, although certain features of myinvention may be adopted in connection with straight machines, ifdesired.

The knitting-cams may be of any desired character, as they form noessential part of the present invention. As shown they comprise acentral duplex lift-cam 2 and on each side of the same a lift-cam 3,terminating at the top in a horizontal ledge or shelf 1, upon which thebutts of the needles rest when they are not under control of theknitting-cams or have not been lifted out of range of the same. On eachside of the cam 2 and between the same and the cam 3 on that side isanother cam, 5, the inner or lower face of which serves as adepressing-cam, while its back or outer face serves as a lifting-cam,these cams 5 being so disposed in respect to the cams 3 and 2 as to forma groove for the passage of the needlebutts, the mouths of the groovesbetween the cams 3 and 5 being normally closed by blocks 6, acted uponby gravity or by suitable springs, so that the butt of a needleapproaching either cam 5 from a cam 3 will be delivered onto the back ofsaid cam 5, while the butt of a needle rising on either of the cams 3will lift the block and pass up onto the ledge 1. Above the cams 5 is alongitmlinally-sliding cam 7, with central depending portion serving todirect downwardly the butt of a needle leaving the back of either of thecams 5, and thereby bring it under the influence of the depressing-faceof the opposite cam 5, this depending portion of the sliding cam 7 beingin contaet with one or other of the cams 5 when the machine is knittinground and round and moving from one cam 5 to the other alternately whenthe cam-cylinder is being recip' rocated.

The machine is intended to be equipped, as usual, with some needleshaving longer butts than the others, the needles having the shorterbutts constituting the fashioning set upon which to-and-fro knitting andnarrowing and widening of the web is effected and the needles having thelonger butts extending around the remaining portion of the cylinder andbe ing lifted out of action prior to to-and-fro knitting and restored toaction again prior to the resumption of round-and-round knitting. Thecam for acting upon the long-batted needles to raise them out ofoperative position is represented at 8, and the cam for acting upon thelong-butted needles for again restoring them to operative position isrepresented at 9, both of these cams sliding radially through slots inthe cylinder and being moved into or 5 out of position to engage thelong needle-butts at appropriate times by any ordinary mechanism -such,for instance, as that shown in the Patent No. 697,593, before referredto.

Two sets of pickers are employed in the machine-namely, those forlifting the end needles of the fashioning set from operative toinoperative relation with the knitting-cams and those for engaging theend needles of the raised or inactive set and restoring them tooperative relation with the knittingcams. The lifting-pickers arerepresented at 10 and the depressing-pickers at 11 in Fig. 1. Eachpicker consists of a fingerpivoted to the upper end of an arm 12, whichis pivoted upon the needle-cylinder by means of a radial pin 18, so thatsaid arm will swing in a plane parallel to a tangent from the peripheryof the cylinder, a spring 14 acting upon each pickerfinger 10 or 11, soas to tend to maintain the same in operative position and at the sametime to maintain its pivoted carrying-arm 12 in a normal position orposition of rest. The cam-cylinder is provided with cams 15 foroperating the lifting-pickers, with cam 16 for operating thedepressing-pickers, and on the outside of the cam-cylinder is mounted acam ring or segment 17, which has cams 18, where by the lifting-pickerscan be moved to an intermediate or neutral position, and other cams, 19,whereby the depressing-pickers can be similarly actuated.

As shown in the drawings, the lifting-pickrs are in operative positionand the depressing-pickers in neutral or inoperative position. Supposingthat the cam cylinder is being moved in the direction of the arrow, Fig.1, with the foremost picker 10 in lowered or operative position, saidpicker 10 will come in contact with the butt of the end needle of thefashioning set resting upon the supportingledge 4 and further forwardmovement of said picker with the cam-cylinder will be arrested. As thepivot-pin 13 of the pickercarrying arm 12 still continues to moveforward with the cam-cylinder, however, the upper end of said arm willhave, in effect, a rearward movement, and at the same time the advancingcam 15 will lift the inner end of the picker and also the needle whosebutt is engaged thereby. Owing to the fact that the upper end of the arm12 swings in a plane parallel with a tangent from the periphery of thecam-cylinder, it gradually increases its distance from saidcam-cylinder, with the effect of drawing outward the picker-finger untilby the time the butt of the needle has been raised so as to pass overthe back of the cam 7 the picker will be disengaged with said butt andwill be drawn forwardly and downwardly under the action of the spring 14until it rests upon the butts of the active needles of the fashioningset and then drops from the same as the end. of the set is reached. The

fact that the picker-linger swings upon a pivot which travels in theplane defined aids in effecting withdrawal of the inner end of saidpicker-finger from engagement with the butt of the needle. As theneedles of the active set rise on the rearmost cam 3 they will lift theopposite picker 10 and pass under the same; but as soon as the directionof movement of the cam-cylinder is reversed this picker becomes theforemost picker and acts, as in the manner before described, to lift outof action a needle at the opposite end of the active seat. During thistime the cams 19 of the cam ring or segment 17 have held thedepressing-pickers 11 in the inoperative position, (shown in Fig. 1;)but when the desired narrowing of the knitted web has been effected andit becomes necessary to restore to action those needles which have beenraised out of act-ion by the pickers 10 the cam ring or segment 17 ismoved in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, so that the cams 18 willraise the lifting-pickers to inoperative position and the cams 19 willpermit the depressingpickers to rise into operative position. Thedepressing-pickers then act to restore the inoperative needles of thefashioning set to operative relation with the knitting-cams-that is tosay, the butt of an end needle of said inoperative set is struck by oneof the pickers 11, the movement of the latter is thereby arrested, itscarrying-arm is caused to swing, and the picker is depressed by theaction of the cam 16, so as to restore the needle to operative position,the picker gradually freeing itself from engagement with the butt, owingto the plane in which the end of the picker-carrying arm swings. When itis desired to knit round and round, the cam ring or segment 17 isadjusted to an intermediate position, so as to retain both lifting anddepressing pickers in inoperative relation with the butts of theneedles.

One of the advantages of the present construction as compared with thatof the previously-patented structures to which I have referred is thatthe picker-can lift or depress the needles more rapidly or to a greaterextent in a given time than in such previous structures, owing to thefact that the pivot of the picking-finger on the free end of theswinging arm 12 has vertical movement in respect to the face of the cam15 or 16, because of the arc in which said free end of the arm swings.Hence the movement of the inner end of the picker which engages theneedlebutt is a compound of the movement due to the angle of the cam andof the lever action due to the vertical movement of the pivot of thelever, the face of the cam for this movement acting as a fulcrum-bearingfor the picker.

Although I have shown and prefer to use springs for acting upon thepickers and picker-carrying arms for maintaining them in and restoringthem to normal position, gravity may take the place of springs for thispurpose, if desired, the arms 12 being suitably counterweighted, so asto normally tend to assume the position into which they are now drawn bythe springs.

Having thus described my invention, Iclaim and desire to secure byLetters Patent 1. The combination of the knitting-cam carrier of aknittihg-machine, with an arm pivoted thereto so as to swing thereon, apicker pivotally mounted upon said arm and adapted to come into contactwith the needle at one end of an operative or inoperative set ofneedles, and a cam moving with the knitting-cam carrier of the machineand acting upon said engaging picker so as to move the same and theneedle engaged thereby, and thereby change the position of said needlein respect to the knitting-cams of the machine, substantially asspecified.

2. The combination in a knitting-machine, of the knitting-cam carrier,an arm hung thereto so as to be free to swing thereon, means acting onsaid arm so as to retain it in or restore it to normal position, apicker pivoted to the free end of said arm and adapted to engage the endneedle of an operative or inoperative set of needles in the machine, anda cam movingwith the knitting-cam carrier and acting upon the pickerwhich is in engagement with the needle, so as to move the same and theneedle and thereby change the position of the latter in respect totheknitting-cams of the machine, substantially as specified.

3. The combination of the knitting-cam carrier of aknittingmachine, anarm hung thereto so as to swing thereon, a picker pivoted to the freeend of said arm and adapted to engage with a needle at one end of anactive or inactive set of the needles of the machine, a cam movable withthe knitting-cam carrier and acting upon the picker which is inengagement with the needle so as to move the picker and needle andchange the position of the needle in respect to the knitting-cams, aspring acting upon said picker and tending to move the same in adirection the reverse of that in which it is moved by the cam, and meansfor maintaining the picker-carrier in and restoring it to normalposition, substantially as specified.

1. The combination in a knitting-machine, of a knitting-cam carrier, anarm hung thereto so as to be free to swing thereon, a picker pivoted tothe free end of said arm and adapted to engage the end needle of anoperative 0r inoperative set of needles in the machine, a cam movablewith the knitting-cam carrier and acting upon said engaged picker so asto move the same and the needle and change the position of said needlein respect to the knittingcams, and a spring acting both upon the pickerand upon its carrying-arm and serving to move the picker in a directionthe reverse of that in which it is moved by the cam and also serving tomaintain the picker-carrying arm in or restore it to a normal position,substantially as specified.

5. Thecombination of the cam-cylinder of aknitting-machine and itsknitting-cams, with an arm pivoted to said cam-cylinder so as to swingin a plane parallel to a tangent from the periphery of the cylinder, atpicker pivotally mounted upon the free end of said arm and adapted toengage the end needle of an active or inactive set of needles in themachine, and a cam movable with the knitting-cam carrier and acting uponsaid engaged picker so as to move the same and the needle engagedthereby and change the position of said needle in respect to theknitting-cams of the machine, substantially as specified.

6. The combination of the cam-cylinder of a knitting-machine and itsknitting-cams, with an arm pivoted to said cam-cylinder so as to swingin a plane parallel to a tangent from the periphery of the cylinder, apicker pivotally mounted upon the free end of said arm and adapted toengage the end needle of an active or inactive set of needles in themachine, a cam movable with the lrnitting-cam carrier and acting uponsaid engaged picker so as to move the same and the needle engagedthereby and change the position ot' said needle in respect to theknitting-cams of the machine, means for moving the picker in a directionthe reverse of that in which it is moved by the cam, and means forretaining the picker-carrying arm in or restoring it to normal position,substantially as specified.

7. The combination of the knitting-cam carrier of a knitting-machine, anarm pivoted thereto so as to swing thereon, a picker pivotally mountedupon the free end of said arm and adapted to engage the end needle of anactive or inactive set of needles in a machine, a cam acting upon saidpicker so as to move the same and the needle engaged thereby and changethe position of said needle in respect to the knitting-cams of themachine, and another and independently-movable cam for acting upon thepicker to move it to inoperative position, substantially as specified.

8. The combination of the knitting-cam carrier of a knitting-machine,raising and depressing pickers adapted to engage with the end needles ofa set in the machine, arms pivoted to the cam-carrier so as to swingthere on, and having pivotal connection with said pickers at their freeends, cams movable with the cam-carrier and acting upon the engagedpickers so as to move the same and the needles engaged thereby and thuschange the position of said needles in respect to the knit ting-cams,and other independently-movable cams acting on said pickers so as tomove one into operative position and the other into inoperativeposition, substantially as specified.

9. The combination. of the knitting-cam carrier of a knitting-machine,raising and depressing pickers adapted to engage with the end needles ofa set in the machine, arms pivoted to the cam-carrier so as to swingthereon, and having pivotal connection with said pickers at their freeends, cams movable with the cam-carrier and acting upon the engagedpickers so as to move the same and the neodles engaged thereby and thuschange the position of said needles in respect to the knitting-cams, andother independently-movable cams acting on said pickers so as to moveone into operative position and the other into inoperative position, orboth into inoperative position, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS N. D. WILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

F. E. BEOHTOLD, ELI-As H. WVHI'rn.

